Carmelo Anthony was no. 4 on last year’s list of the most popular jerseys in the NBA, but this year he overtook LeBron James and Kevin Durant to claim the top spot. It makes you wonder. Maybe Jeremy Lin detracted from Melo’s jersey sales last year, his first full season with a chance to make this list in the New York market. Maybe he and Lin split the Knicks base. Or maybe America just all of a sudden decided to love Carmelo Anthony.
NBA Jerseys: America loves Carmelo and the Knicks, continues ignoring the Bobcats
Carmelo Anthony has overtaken LeBron James as the number one jersey-seller in the NBA, and the Knicks are on top, too. How did this happen?
Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports
We don’t know.
Is this all runoff popularity from LaLa’s Full Court Life?
Is it because Carmelo’s scoring more this year?
Is he scoring more in hopes of winning the jersey title?
What came first, the chicken or the egg or Carmelo?
Who can say. These are big jersey questions with no clear answer.
In any case, Carmelo is king of jersey sales now, which means LeBron (no. 2) and Durant (no. 3) are left throwing rocks at the throne with all the broke, lonely souls like Deron Williams (no. 6) and Paul Pierce (no. 15, LOL so pathetic). Likewise, the Knicks held steady at no. 1 as the most popular team merchandise, edging out the Heat, Lakers, Nets, Bulls, and not the Bobcats.
Sure, we could take this news make all sorts of stupid jokes about how “The Knicks finally beat the Heat at something!” but that would be mean and petty and also very Jay Leno of us. Besides, the Knicks are 3-1 against the Heat this year, so WHO’S THE PUNCHLINE NOW?
The entire release is below.
NEW YORK, April 9, 2013 - Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks claimed the No. 1 spot on the NBA's top-selling jerseys list, and the Knicks remain the top-selling team since the beginning of the 2012-13 season. Anthony is the first Knicks player to lead the jersey rankings since the list was first released in the 2001-02 season. The rankings are based on combined sales at the NBA Store on Fifth Avenue and NBAStore.com from November 2012 to present.
Anthony, a six-time NBA All-Star, rose from No. 4 to take the No. 1 spot from reigning NBA and Finals MVP LeBron James of the Miami Heat, who slipped to No. 2. While this marks Anthony's debut in the No.1 spot, James' jersey has topped the list four times, and the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant (No.4) has held the position seven times.
The Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant slipped one spot to No. 3 and rounding out the top five is the Chicago Bulls' Derrick Rose (No. 5).
The Knicks have maintained their position as the best-selling team since they first topped the Bulls at the start of the 2012-13 season. The reigning champion Heat are at No. 2, followed by the Lakers at No. 3, the Brooklyn Nets at No. 4, and the Bulls at No. 5.
Additional Highlights:
- The Cleveland Cavaliers' Kyrie Irving debuts at No. 11 - the only second-year player among the top 15.
- Six teams - the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Clippers, Heat, Knicks, Lakers, and Thunder - have two players in the top 15.
- Seven of the top 15 players have been chosen as NBA Rookie of the Year, including Irving, Durant, James, Rose, Blake Griffin (Clippers), Chris Paul (Clippers), and Amar'e Stoudemire (Knicks).
Top 15 Most Popular NBA Jerseys
1. Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks
2. LeBron James, Miami Heat
3. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
4. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
5. Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
6. Deron Williams, Brooklyn Nets
7. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
8. Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics
9. Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
10. Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
11. Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers+
12. Dwight Howard, Los Angeles Lakers
13. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
14. Amar'e Stoudemire, New York Knicks*
15. Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics
Top 10 Most Popular Merchandise (by Team)
1. New York Knicks
2. Miami Heat
3. Los Angeles Lakers
4. Brooklyn Nets
5. Chicago Bulls
6. Boston Celtics
7. Oklahoma City Thunder
8. Los Angeles Clippers
9. San Antonio Spurs
10. Philadelphia 76ers*
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